Integrating the social, hydrological and ecological dimensions of freshwater health: the freshwater health index

Degradation of freshwater ecosystems and the services they provide is a primary cause of increasing water insecurity, raising the need for integrated solutions to freshwater management. While methods for characterizing the multi-faceted challenges of managing freshwater ecosystems abound, they tend...

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Main Authors: Vollmer, D., Shaad, K., Souter, N.J., Farrell, T., Dudgeon, D., Sullivan, C.A., Fauconnier, I., MacDonald, G.M., McCartney, Matthew P., Power, A.G., McNally, A., Andelman, Sandy J., Capon, T., Devineni, N., Apirumanekul, C., Nam Ng, C., Shaw, M.R., Wang, R.Y., Lai, C., Wang, Z., Regan, H.M.
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Elsevier 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/92086
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author Vollmer, D.
Shaad, K.
Souter, N.J.
Farrell, T.
Dudgeon, D.
Sullivan, C.A.
Fauconnier, I.
MacDonald, G.M.
McCartney, Matthew P.
Power, A.G.
McNally, A.
Andelman, Sandy J.
Capon, T.
Devineni, N.
Apirumanekul, C.
Nam Ng, C.
Shaw, M.R.
Wang, R.Y.
Lai, C.
Wang, Z.
Regan, H.M.
author_browse Andelman, Sandy J.
Apirumanekul, C.
Capon, T.
Devineni, N.
Dudgeon, D.
Farrell, T.
Fauconnier, I.
Lai, C.
MacDonald, G.M.
McCartney, Matthew P.
McNally, A.
Nam Ng, C.
Power, A.G.
Regan, H.M.
Shaad, K.
Shaw, M.R.
Souter, N.J.
Sullivan, C.A.
Vollmer, D.
Wang, R.Y.
Wang, Z.
author_facet Vollmer, D.
Shaad, K.
Souter, N.J.
Farrell, T.
Dudgeon, D.
Sullivan, C.A.
Fauconnier, I.
MacDonald, G.M.
McCartney, Matthew P.
Power, A.G.
McNally, A.
Andelman, Sandy J.
Capon, T.
Devineni, N.
Apirumanekul, C.
Nam Ng, C.
Shaw, M.R.
Wang, R.Y.
Lai, C.
Wang, Z.
Regan, H.M.
author_sort Vollmer, D.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Degradation of freshwater ecosystems and the services they provide is a primary cause of increasing water insecurity, raising the need for integrated solutions to freshwater management. While methods for characterizing the multi-faceted challenges of managing freshwater ecosystems abound, they tend to emphasize either social or ecological dimensions and fall short of being truly integrative. This paper suggests that management for sustainability of freshwater systems needs to consider the linkages between human water uses, freshwater ecosystems and governance. We present a conceptualization of freshwater resources as part of an integrated social-ecological system and propose a set of corresponding indicators to monitor freshwater ecosystem health and to highlight priorities for management. We demonstrate an application of this new framework —the Freshwater Health Index (FHI) — in the Dongjiang River Basin in southern China, where stakeholders are addressing multiple and conflicting freshwater demands. By combining empirical and modeled datasets with surveys to gauge stakeholders' preferences and elicit expert information about governance mechanisms, the FHI helps stakeholders understand the status of freshwater ecosystems in their basin, how ecosystems are being manipulated to enhance or decrease water-related services, and how well the existing water resource management regime is equipped to govern these dynamics over time. This framework helps to operationalize a truly integrated approach to water resource management by recognizing the interplay between governance, stakeholders, freshwater ecosystems and the services they provide.
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spelling CGSpace920862024-05-01T08:17:10Z Integrating the social, hydrological and ecological dimensions of freshwater health: the freshwater health index Vollmer, D. Shaad, K. Souter, N.J. Farrell, T. Dudgeon, D. Sullivan, C.A. Fauconnier, I. MacDonald, G.M. McCartney, Matthew P. Power, A.G. McNally, A. Andelman, Sandy J. Capon, T. Devineni, N. Apirumanekul, C. Nam Ng, C. Shaw, M.R. Wang, R.Y. Lai, C. Wang, Z. Regan, H.M. freshwater water governance stakeholders ecosystem services ecological factors water security water resources water management water demand sustainability environmental health indicators river basins Degradation of freshwater ecosystems and the services they provide is a primary cause of increasing water insecurity, raising the need for integrated solutions to freshwater management. While methods for characterizing the multi-faceted challenges of managing freshwater ecosystems abound, they tend to emphasize either social or ecological dimensions and fall short of being truly integrative. This paper suggests that management for sustainability of freshwater systems needs to consider the linkages between human water uses, freshwater ecosystems and governance. We present a conceptualization of freshwater resources as part of an integrated social-ecological system and propose a set of corresponding indicators to monitor freshwater ecosystem health and to highlight priorities for management. We demonstrate an application of this new framework —the Freshwater Health Index (FHI) — in the Dongjiang River Basin in southern China, where stakeholders are addressing multiple and conflicting freshwater demands. By combining empirical and modeled datasets with surveys to gauge stakeholders' preferences and elicit expert information about governance mechanisms, the FHI helps stakeholders understand the status of freshwater ecosystems in their basin, how ecosystems are being manipulated to enhance or decrease water-related services, and how well the existing water resource management regime is equipped to govern these dynamics over time. This framework helps to operationalize a truly integrated approach to water resource management by recognizing the interplay between governance, stakeholders, freshwater ecosystems and the services they provide. 2018-06 2018-04-18T05:32:45Z 2018-04-18T05:32:45Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/92086 en Open Access Elsevier Vollmer, D.; Shaad, K.; Souter, N. J.; Farrell, T.; Dudgeon, D.; Sullivan, C. A.; Fauconnier, I.; MacDonald, G. M.; McCartney, Matthew P.; Power, A. G.; McNally, A.; Andelman, S. J.; Capon, T.; Devineni, N.; Apirumanekul, C.; Nam Ng, C.; Shaw, M. R.; Wang, R. Y.; Lai, C.; Wang, Z.; Regan, H. M. 2018. Integrating the social, hydrological and ecological dimensions of freshwater health: the freshwater health index. Science of the Total Environment, 10p. (Online first) doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.01.040
spellingShingle freshwater
water governance
stakeholders
ecosystem services
ecological factors
water security
water resources
water management
water demand
sustainability
environmental health
indicators
river basins
Vollmer, D.
Shaad, K.
Souter, N.J.
Farrell, T.
Dudgeon, D.
Sullivan, C.A.
Fauconnier, I.
MacDonald, G.M.
McCartney, Matthew P.
Power, A.G.
McNally, A.
Andelman, Sandy J.
Capon, T.
Devineni, N.
Apirumanekul, C.
Nam Ng, C.
Shaw, M.R.
Wang, R.Y.
Lai, C.
Wang, Z.
Regan, H.M.
Integrating the social, hydrological and ecological dimensions of freshwater health: the freshwater health index
title Integrating the social, hydrological and ecological dimensions of freshwater health: the freshwater health index
title_full Integrating the social, hydrological and ecological dimensions of freshwater health: the freshwater health index
title_fullStr Integrating the social, hydrological and ecological dimensions of freshwater health: the freshwater health index
title_full_unstemmed Integrating the social, hydrological and ecological dimensions of freshwater health: the freshwater health index
title_short Integrating the social, hydrological and ecological dimensions of freshwater health: the freshwater health index
title_sort integrating the social hydrological and ecological dimensions of freshwater health the freshwater health index
topic freshwater
water governance
stakeholders
ecosystem services
ecological factors
water security
water resources
water management
water demand
sustainability
environmental health
indicators
river basins
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/92086
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